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348 votes
Hi community, thanks for sharing your continued interest here. We appreciate the importance of having assurance that mail you send from Xero is being received, and that being able to send from your own company email would increase confidence in this process.
I can confirm this idea has been continually reviewed by our product teams, and being able to send from your own company email is on their radar. Currently there are other priorities, and platform work that requires their attention, before they can consider this more deeply.
When there is opportunity to pick this up, I will share any news with you all here.
An error occurred while saving the comment An error occurred while saving the comment 
Marc Banyard
commented
@Dennis, I agree that using a 3rd party is not an ideal solution and Xero should do this natively out of the box.
The solution I have developed is free and the full source code is available to use and contribute to.
As business owners we usually have a company domain which has a website and email configured on it.
If your web host supports .Net 8 (most do), this will work and not cost you as a business anything moving forwards.
As I use Microsoft 365 for my company emails, I have written this to work with it and provided the setup guides on how to configure an app registration to send the emails from your own domain.
I will be looking at adding SMTP functionality next week when I have some time, if anyone has a Google Workspace account and would like to work with me to conduct testing, I would be more than happy to add that ability to the solution, alternatively if you have coding knowledge and can add this yourself, please do so and push the changes back to the repository so others can benefit from this.
Until Xero pull their fingers out and start listening to customers, I suspect this will be the only free option the community can use to send invoices using their own domain.
There are some solutions out there and they will happily charge you a monthly fee to do this.
Since so many people (including myself) have been vocal about how invoices are currently sent from the Xero SaaS platform as being a security concern, I decided to write a solution that solved my needs as well as anyone else who uses Xero and Microsoft 365.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
The desktop version of Sage, Quickbooks or others usually use a MAPI connection or plugin with outlook on the computer to send emails, some can be configured with SMTP, but it’s been years since I’ve used the desktop versions of the software.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
@Perry, I can look at implementing SMTP, this won’t be till next week. It should be a relatively simple fix to test.
The web app I’ve written does not rely on outlook, it’s currently configured to use Microsoft 365 as that’s what my business uses.
I would like to see the project working with as many email providers as possible so it benefits the community.
I totally agree that the best solution would be for Xero to configure their SaaS product to be compliant with industry standards.
DKIM and SPF are great, and most SaaS solutions offer this as standard and have done for years.An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
Technically it doesn't handle any data as it relies completely on Xero sending a webhook to the webapp (either a website or virtual directory on an existing website), then it communicates with Xero on a very restricted set of claims to get the PDF of the invoice and email it as an attachment along with the link to it on the Xero platform.
It then sends it out via your email (this is the biggest pain point we all have with Xero), it even sends invoice reminders.
I would love feedback from anyone once they have conducted a security audit on it.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
@Adam, I've just sent an email, but its bounced back.
I have pushed the code to a public repo for anyone that would like to use it.
https://github.com/MarcBanyard/XeroMailerWebThe compiled code is available here
https://github.com/MarcBanyard/XeroMailerWeb/releases/download/v1.0.0/XeroMailerWeb.v1.0.0.zipI'm happy to help get Google Workspace or Google Enterprise working with it, I didn't implement it as I didn't have an account to test with and don't use it personally.
If you are able to, please contribute to the code on GitHub.
If anyone would like to *********** test the code, it would be amazing if you could share the results with the community as this will help us all which is why I released the code to the public for free.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
I see your concern about this, I'm releasing the solution and source code free of charge if anyone wants to try it.
I'm a CTO & CISO and have extensive experience in IT Security, Cyber Security and Software Development.
I wanted to write this to solve my issue, but also wrote it knowing I wanted to give it out free of charge to the community to solve their issue as well.
Anyone who would like to talk about it please reach out and I will be more than happy to run through it with you so you can trial it with a test Xero company and a test M365 environment so put your mind at rest.
If there is anyone else out there who has software knowledge, cyber security knowledge or would like to perform *********** and security testing on the source or compiled code, please let me know as I welcome that as it will help all of us in the community.
I've done my bit by writing the software to solve the issue we are all having because Xero are not interested in implementing it.
It would be great to have other Xero users use it to solve their issue as well, it would be even better to get others to look at the code and see if there are any bits that can be improved or developed further.Finally it would be great if a cyber security company can test it to confirm its all OK as this will help put everyone's minds at rest.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
Since the topic has quite a bit of traction today, would any of you like to try the web app I wrote to solve the issue we are all experiencing?
Its free, so I'm not trying to generate revenue from this like others have!
I wrote it to solve the issue as Xero have no plans of implementing this as its been an outstanding issue for years now!
The process is straightforward. Anyone interested in using it will need to have Microsoft 365 (business, not personal). While I still need to write the web server setup guide, the setup for Xero and M365 is already complete. The setup is simple, and I've reviewed the AI-generated code thoroughly; everything looks fine (I have extensive experience with open-source projects).
I used AI to create the software to test its feasibility and effectiveness. As with all software, there are no guarantees it will be bug-free (please refer to any software's terms and conditions). However, after extensive testing, I am confident enough to release it to the community and I'm using it myself to send out all invoices and automatic reminders.
To give you some background you will need a Hosting Space with .NET Core 8 (.Net 8) for the mini web app to work, this can be a subdomain or as a virtual directory on your main website.
There is no UI to configure settings as its all triggered with API calls from Xero to trigger the system to request the invoice and email it out via your Microsoft 365 App Registration using a Shared or User mailbox.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
It's surprising that Xero hasn't integrated this feature into their core code, especially since their message-service@post.xero.com email is currently being exploited to send spam with malicious payloads. The code I developed interacts with Xero's API when invoices are authorised. It requests the PDF, attaches it, and includes a link in the email with text that closely resembles the standard Xero template. The email is then sent using an App Registration in your Microsoft 365 tenant.
The process is straightforward. Anyone interested in using it will need to have Microsoft 365 (business, not personal). While I still need to write the web server setup guide, the setup for Xero and M365 is already complete. The setup is simple, and I've reviewed the AI-generated code thoroughly; everything looks fine (I have extensive experience with open-source projects).
I used AI to create the software to test its feasibility and effectiveness. As with all software, there are no guarantees it will be bug-free (please refer to any software's terms and conditions). However, after extensive testing, I am confident enough to release it to the community.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
Xero, please listen to your users and implement requests that they ask for.
This has been requested for years and you are ignoring these requests, A couple of companies have jumped in and are offering a paid for service that does what users have been asking the core system to do for years.
I wrote a very simple web app that solves the issue simply using AI, I have tested and I'm offering this to the community at no charge.
Xero please feel free to let me know if you would like to implement the code into your core system, its written in ASP.NET Core 8 C#.
For any other Xero users please feel free to reach out with your contact details and I will be more than happy to share the compiled code and install instructions. You will need a hosting package that supports ASP.NET Core 8 (most providers do), I'm happy to assist with the hosting if needed otherwise you can use your own provider.
For the time being I have only written this to send emails via an App Registration in Microsoft 365, If anyone wants this for Google Enterprise please let me know as it should be a simple change or addition in the code.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
This has been requested multiple times when the site was community.xero.com but since they have migrated over to productideas.xero.com they have all been removed!
We are desperate to be able to send emails via Microsoft 365, this should be a really simple thing for you to setup especially as you are already sending emails.
Please can you look at getting this basic feature request actioned.
Marc Banyard
supported this idea
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612 votes
Thanks for your support on the idea, everyone. We thoroughly appreciate your participation, and letting us know where you'd like to see change across Xero.
Customer statements, is an area of Xero that needs upgrades to it's technology in order to make ideas like this one here possible.
Currently, while we have plans for modernising this space soon we cannot commit to any new developments for Statements until this work has been complete. Once this has been done I'll round back to the idea here when we can reset the objectives.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
I have pushed the code to a public repo for anyone that would like to use it.
https://github.com/MarcBanyard/XeroMailerWebThe compiled code is available here
https://github.com/MarcBanyard/XeroMailerWeb/releases/download/v1.0.0/XeroMailerWeb.v1.0.0.zipI'm happy to help get Google Workspace or Google Enterprise working with it, I didn't implement it as I didn't have an account to test with and don't use it personally.
If you are able to, please contribute to the code on GitHub.
If anyone would like to *********** test the code, it would be amazing if you could share the results with the community as this will help us all which is why I released the code to the public for free.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
@David, I’m happy to work with you to get this working on the google workspace platform.
Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn and we can swap contact details and talk more.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
If you look on the thread you have listed you will see I've written a web app that solves this issue along with the emailing invoices issue.
The solution I've written is FREE and sends the invoices out and invoice reminders from your domain using an App Registration in your Microsoft 365 tenant.
If anyone has a Google Enterprise account I would be more than happy to look at integrating that into the app as well so it will work with both.
Please reach out if you would like to use it or test it out.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
It's surprising that Xero hasn't integrated this feature into their core code, especially since their message-service@post.xero.com email is currently being exploited to send spam with malicious payloads. The code I developed interacts with Xero's API when invoices are authorised. It requests the PDF, attaches it, and includes a link in the email with text that closely resembles the standard Xero template. The email is then sent using an App Registration in your Microsoft 365 tenant.
The process is straightforward. Anyone interested in using it will need to have Microsoft 365 (business, not personal). While I still need to write the web server setup guide, the setup for Xero and M365 is already complete. The setup is simple, and I've reviewed the AI-generated code thoroughly; everything looks fine (I have extensive experience with open-source projects).
I used AI to create the software to test its feasibility and effectiveness. As with all software, there are no guarantees it will be bug-free (please refer to any software's terms and conditions). However, after extensive testing, I am confident enough to release it to the community.
I've already reached out to Robert. If anyone else is interested in trying it out, I recommend setting up a Xero trial to evaluate the system. Once you're satisfied, you can transition to your main system.
Alternatively, you can integrate it with your Demo Company and, once you're confident, reauthenticate with your main Xero company.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
Xero, please listen to your users and implement requests that they ask for.
This has been requested for years and you are ignoring these requests, A couple of companies have jumped in and are offering a paid for service that does what users have been asking the core system to do for years.
I wrote a very simple web app that solves the issue simply using AI, I have tested and I'm offering this to the community at no charge.
Xero please feel free to let me know if you would like to implement the code into your core system, its written in ASP.NET Core 8 C#.
For any other Xero users please feel free to reach out with your contact details and I will be more than happy to share the compiled code and install instructions. You will need a hosting package that supports ASP.NET Core 8 (most providers do), I'm happy to assist with the hosting if needed otherwise you can use your own provider.
For the time being I have only written this to send emails via an App Registration in Microsoft 365, If anyone wants this for Google Enterprise please let me know as it should be a simple change or addition in the code.
Marc Banyard
supported this idea
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58 votes
We appreciate the interest in more customisation when sending documents from Xero, everyone. Currently in the space of new invoicing we have recently released a new send modal that enables the use of rich text formatting, and allows you to cc and Bcc emails.
Currently this is limited to send of invoices with new invoicing only, however over time we will look at expanding this to other areas of Xero that you can send from. I'll keep you updated of any further enhancements surrounding this, here.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
@Mark, I've just written the below on another forum post, this will help you solve your issue as the code uses HTML when formatting the email or reminder email.
I have pushed the code to a public repo for anyone that would like to use it.
https://github.com/MarcBanyard/XeroMailerWebThe compiled code is available here
https://github.com/MarcBanyard/XeroMailerWeb/releases/download/v1.0.0/XeroMailerWeb.v1.0.0.zipI'm happy to help get Google Workspace or Google Enterprise working with it, I didn't implement it as I didn't have an account to test with and don't use it personally.
If you are able to, please contribute to the code on GitHub.
If anyone would like to *********** test the code, it would be amazing if you could share the results with the community as this will help us all which is why I released the code to the public for free.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
Xero, please listen to your users and implement requests that they ask for.
This has been requested for years and you are ignoring these requests, A couple of companies have jumped in and are offering a paid for service that does what users have been asking the core system to do for years.
I wrote a very simple web app that solves the issue simply using AI, I have tested and I'm offering this to the community at no charge.
Xero please feel free to let me know if you would like to implement the code into your core system, its written in ASP.NET Core 8 C#.
For any other Xero users please feel free to reach out with your contact details and I will be more than happy to share the compiled code and install instructions. You will need a hosting package that supports ASP.NET Core 8 (most providers do), I'm happy to assist with the hosting if needed otherwise you can use your own provider.
For the time being I have only written this to send emails via an App Registration in Microsoft 365, If anyone wants this for Google Enterprise please let me know as it should be a simple change or addition in the code.
An error occurred while saving the comment Marc Banyard
commented
We also need the ability to be able to send emails from our Microsoft 365 accounts rather than the Xero email address.
This has been requested multiple times by numerous people, but the consumers seem to be getting ignored for very basic feature requests which are critical to security and reputation for our companies with our clients.We are looking to automate as much as possible, which Xero seems great at, but there are a few very simple things lacking which is such a shame as it is letting the product down so much.
Marc Banyard
supported this idea
·
Out of interest who uses Microsoft 365 (Azure, Entra Exchange Online, SharePoint Online) in their company for emails?